The Philippines We Dreamed Of

We arrived in the afternoon to Puerto Princesa and checked into our lovely little guesthouse, right in the middle of town, coming quickly to the conclusion that Puerto, as the Filipinos call it, was much more organized, clean and pleasant than Cebu City. We had a pretty chilled afternoon and evening eating seafood and having a few beers. We had decided that rather than get a minibus to Port Barton, we would go on a local bus, thus avoiding (hopefully) terrible driving and cramped conditions. We took a tricycle out to the bus station early in the morning only to be told there were no buses to Port Barton. We were then ushered to the minibus station where we were told the comfortable mini bus sitting there would depart in half an hour. Half an hour came and went and eventually, while Cat was in the toilet, another (crappy) minibus, packed with people arrived and we were asked to board. Pedro had a rather heated discussion with the woman organsing the transport as this was all contrary to what she had previously told us. When she shouted at him to

board immediately, he requested the money back and we headed off to find an alternative. We ended up getting a minibus part of the way there to Roxas, where we got off and had some lunch in a sweet little restaurant owned by a family, surrounded by teenagers from the local school having a snack. The journey was really windy and Cat felt pretty sick so the opportunity to have a break and a rest was welcomed. We then paid for a tricycle to take us the last 30, bumpy, windy kilometers to Port Barton, where Cat and Flora had a snack while Pedro headed off once again to locate a place to stay.
Port Barton was lovely. Little more than a small village overlooking a pretty beach on an expansive bay, it was friendly with a very chilled out vibe. The restaurants and bars along the beach served great food and it was a brilliant place to relax, have a massage, drink a few beers and meet other travelers. We spent a few evenings at the Happy bar where beers were always 50 pesos and everyone was

friendly, and the local youngsters demonstrated their fire twirling skills. Pedro made friends with a bunch of Catalan boys and enjoyed a night out with them at the Reggae bar.
We also went out on a day trip on a traditional banca boat (with bamboo outriggers) during our stay there. It was just us, a couple from London (Grace and Jordan) and a Spanish couple on the boat. The captain took us to beautiful reefs to snorkel, gorgeous islands with white sand beaches, a snorkeling spot to see turtles, and a sand bank covered with star fish, as well as whipping up an amazing lunch for us all. It is impossible to overstate how clear and beautiful the water is in the Philippines. After showering on our return, we met Grace and Jordan and had a brilliant night with

them drinking cocktails back at the Happy bar. The only slight negative bit of our stay in Port Barton was when the police rocked up with their semi-automatic guns onto the beach to “check if everything was fine”. They were friendly and chatty, but massive guns swinging around Flora while they asked us questions about our trip and how were we enjoying the Philippines were not conducive to a relaxed vibe at all and reminded us of the fascist pig that runs their country and his associated policies!
Despite this minor episode, we LOVED our stay in Port Barton. Beautiful spot and a great vibe with a good crowd.